I will be flying for the first time with my 15 month old daughter and she will be on my lap, does anyone have any advice? I am not sure how she will do on a 5 hour flight. Any suggestions on toys, or ear pain from popping ears due to cabin pressure changes? I am open to any advice. Thank You for your help..

I just did my first flight with my 13 month old and here's what I found helpful.

* Call the airline and make sure they know you have a lap baby. Depending on the plane, you can't sit in certain seats because of how the oxygen masks are arranged. If you wait until the last minute for them to change you around, you're going to get stuck with a bad seat.

* Buy a few new toys for the flight and bring along a few old favorites. The new toys will make the time pass. Don't buy toys that roll or have smaller parts because there is no easy way to get stuff out from under airplane seats without a baby on your lap much less with one.

* Make sure you have a sippy cup or bottle with you and put water in it. Flights are very drying and a dehydrated baby is no fun.

* For the ears, nurse on take off and landing of if you're not nursing, use a bottle or pacifier. The s*cking helps with the ear popping.

* People will tell you to get a window seat for privacy while nursing. Ignore them. If you sandwich yourself between another person and a window, there's no room for the baby to nurse. Get an aisle seat so you have some room for expansion.

* Take baby for a walk down the aisle to the bathroom every hour or so. Let her wash her hands in the sink or do something interesting. The point is to get a little leg stretching and a little change of scenery. Most flight attendants have been instructed to stop people from milling about on a plane (even on long overseas flights where you're supposed to get up and walk to avoid blood clots) so you have to tell them you're going to the restroom or they'll tell you to sit down and put your seat belt on.

* Go on the airline's website and print off the policies for lap babies. The gate agent tried to tell me that a lap baby only entitled me to one extra piece of luggage (the car seat) but I'd have to pay extra to check the stroller. She was dead wrong, but I couldn't prove it. I had the sling with me, so I sent my husband home with the stroller.

* If you have a sling, use it. A million times easier to maneuver than a stroller. Can't say enough good things about the sling.

* Bring snacks.

* Make sure baby is well rested getting on the flight. Don't put a tired baby on a plane hoping that they'll fall asleep. Tired babies are intolerant and are much harder to deal with than happy awake babies.